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Lemire Embiggens Ray Palmer

Fresh off a “Best New Series” Eisner nomination for “Sweet Tooth,” DC Comics announced this morning via its blog, The Source that Jeff Lemire would be teaming up with artist Mahmud Asrar (“Dynamo 5”) on “Brightest Day: The Atom” #1 in July. The one-shot special will serve as launchpad for a new ongoing story that will continue as the co-feature in the pages of “Adventure Comics,” beginning in #516.

DC Comics Editor Brian Cunningham also revealed in the post that Ray Palmer would be the featured Atom, and not Ryan Choi.

Ray Palmer, created by the legendary duo of Gardner Fox and Gil Kane, was introduced as the Silver Age Atom in “Showcase” #34 in 1961. Palmer is a scientist and a teacher who develops a lens fixed with white dwarf star matter, which enables him to shrink any object to any degree he wishes. The unfortunate side effect is that, after an object is treated, it explodes. When a freak spelunking accident forces Palmer to turn the technology on himself to get out of collapsed cave, he not only saves the day, but The Atom is born.

In recent years, Ryan Choi has been used as the all-new Atom operating in the DCU and was even featured in his own ongoing series, written by Gail Simone. But during the megahit “Blackest Night” event series, Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis threw Ray Palmer back under the lens and DC’s smallest hero is once again playing in the big leagues.

CBR News spoke with Lemire from his home in Toronto and the Ã¼ber-talented indie star shared what it is about Ray Palmer that he makes his size irrelevant to his stature within the DCU.

CBR News: First off, congratulations on the Eisner nomination for “Sweet Tooth.” You obviously don’t get into creating comics to win awards but, it’s nice to be recognized, all the same, isn’t it?

Jeff Lemire: Oh, of course. Any time your peers or the people in your industry take a look at what you’re doing and say, “Yeah, this is good,” that’s the type of validation you need – sometimes – to remind yourself that you are doing something good. Being a cartoonist, you’re alone most of the time and you don’t get a lot of feedback, so it’s really nice to be recognized. And to get put into a category with so many great books, it’s great.

I liked James’ story, but that was his Ray Palmer. I’m going to do my own, and my Ray Palmer is a teacher and a scientist just as much as he is a superhero. I think that’s what makes him so unique. Green Lantern was a natural born hero and Batman was seeking revenge – all of these superheroes have a reason for being a superhero whereas Ray, really, first he was a teacher and a scientist and as a result of his work he gained these abilities. So I think that’s what makes him unique. I explore why a scientist and why a teacher would continue to be a superhero. In other words, what makes Ray Palmer want to put on the costume every day? That’s the story I want to tell.

Is it difficult or liberating to take on an established character versus working on a character that you created for one of your own projects?

It’s absolutely liberating. It’s a nice break from doing the really personal stuff that I do in my creator-owned stuff. My stuff tends to be quite heavy and quite emotionally charged and what-not. It’s not that I don’t want Ray to have a good strong emotional arc in the story, but it’s just fun to take these classic characters and all of the things that you love about them and have fun and do it your way. But yeah, it’s a whole different part of my brain. I’m certainly writing The Atom a lot different than I would, for instance, “Sweet Tooth.” It’s just as fun, but it’s a completely different thing.

You kick things off with a one-shot special. Does that serve as #0 issue for what you’re doing in the co-features in “Adventure Comics?”

Exactly. We’re going to show where he is in the DCU right now. We’re going to revisit his origin, but in a way that no one has ever seen before. We’re going to add a lot to what was known, and we’re going to add a lot of color to it, and a lot of detail, and really make it more of a modern origin. So the one-shot will serve to reestablish him and at the same time, set up the plot that we’re going to do in “Adventure Comics.”

So, the co-features in “Adventure Comics” will be an ongoing story and not done-in-ones?

That’s right – to start with, it’s going to be a 10-part story, and I believe they are going to be 10 pages each. So that’s good. We have a good 100 pages, plus the one-shot, to tell a real nice story. Hopefully, if it’s successful, we’ll keep going, because the story I’m telling is really just the first chapter of a longer epic with Ray Palmer.

Considering your monthly duties writing and drawing “Sweet Tooth,” was the fact that this was a co-feature versus its own series make it any easier to jump on?

No. I would have done it if it was a full book [laughs]. That’s just what was offered.

So after this 10-part story, you’d gladly write a Ray Palmer ongoing series?

Yes, I would. I think I’m setting up enough stuff in this first story that it could definitely carry him through into a monthly. Like I said, I think this really is just the first chapter of a bigger Atom story that I’d like to tell. So, fingers crossed that people respond to it, and maybe he can have another ongoing or another miniseries.

You obviously can’t give too much away just yet, but what can you tell us about the story?

Like you said, I don’t want to spoil too much just yet, but I can say it’s going to be a new villain or villains, because a lot of the stuff we talked about when we were discussing where we wanted to take Ray, he really didn’t have a Joker. You know what I mean? He didn’t have a classic nemesis. He had a few villains like Chronos the Time Bandit and the Bug-Eyed Bandit, but none of them really connected to Ray on a personal or emotional level. The Joker is kind of like Batman’s other half. Lex Luthor and Superman have a long history. But Ray didn’t have that kind of a villain where it wasn’t more than this bad guy popping up every month. We needed something that was really tied to his origin and really tied into who he was emotionally so that the story meant something. So, in reworking the origin, I created a new villain for Ray, and that’s going to be the story I’m telling – Ray discovering this villain for the first time, but at the same time, realizing that this person or persons have been connected to him right from his childhood.

Where do you see The Atom in terms of the greater hierarchy of the DCU? I mean, there are the Trinity – Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman – and then it’s probably Green Lantern and The Flash in terms of stature. Is The Atom right in there, or is he at that next level with say Aquaman and Martian Manhunter?

I think there is probably two ways of looking at that question. One way would be where he is right now, and I think people would kind of look at him and agree he’s not up there with Flash or Green Lantern yet. But at that same time, I think he has that potential.

In the Silver Age, when Julius Schwartz brought back The Flash and Hal Jordan, The Atom was right there with those two guys. They all spin out of these great science fiction concepts, just like Geoff did with Green Lantern and just like he’s doing with The Flash now. Ray has that potential. I also think that Ray has this weird hangup where, just because the guy is small, he can’t be cool. Or as cool as those guys. My main goal is to make people realize that he can kick total ass just as much as those guys, and that his size doesn’t necessarily mirror his stature in the DCU.

You mentioned Hal Jordan and Barry Allen. With Geoff steering those two characters right now, and him being the one who reached out to you about this project, might we see Green Lantern and Flash in your stories with The Atom?

No, those two guys aren’t going to pop into my story. But there will be another character, which if you know The Atom, there is one superhero that he has been linked to forever and that’s Hawkman. We definitely may see Hawkman since he just returned.

Yet another character Geoff is very fond of. So should we start mailing in postcards to Dan DiDio demanding a new Jeff Lemire-written “Atom and Hawkman” ongoing series?

Bring it on, man.

One more character I wanted to ask you about is Ryan Choi – the new Atom. Does he play into this at all?

No, we’re going to leave him go. What DC’s plans are for that character is outside of what I’m doing. I’m just going to focus entirely on Ray Palmer. Ryan’s story happened, but Ray’s back and Ray’s The Atom, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t know what Ryan’s fate will be, but he doesn’t play into what I’m doing.

Not only is this your first foray into mainstream DCU superheroes, I believe this is also your first project that you won’t be drawing. Was that a hard choice for you, or again, just not possible due to other commitments?

Exactly. Purely on a scheduling level, there is no way that I could draw more than one book. And “Sweet Tooth” is my baby, so I was never going to have the time to do it anyway. But also, I don’t think DC would be interested in someone with my style drawing this character. They want a really iconic, classic superhero book here. And, you know, that’s not the kind of stuff that I draw. At the same time, for quite a while now, I’ve really wanted to start writing scripts for other artists. Like you said, it’s just another way of being creative – another way of flexing my creative muscles, or whatever. I think, being an artist myself, I can bring a lot to scripts to help the artists.

We have a really good on artist on “The Atom” – Mahmud Asrar. I don’t know if you’re familiar with him. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t too familiar with him before, this but then they told me about him, and I grabbed all that “Dynamo 5” stuff he did for Image and I think he’s fantastic. He’s a classic superhero artist, sort of in the same vein of Ivan Reis or a lot of those guys that are really doing great work right now. I think we have a real gem, and he has the potential to be a real star and hopefully, if we make The Atom as cool as I want to, this will be a good showcase for him, as well.

Is this a one-time visit to mainstream DCU, or are you hoping that this is the first of many projects with these iconic characters?

I definitely hope to do more. I love doing my indie books and my more personal work, but just like we said at the top of the interview, I’m a big superhero fan, and if I can have this sort of second career or co-career going where I can play with superheroes and write for other artists, it’s something I’m definitely interested in pursuing.

While this is a huge opportunity for you, DC must be pleased that you bring your own built-in fan base to the project, as well. “Essex County” and “The Nobody” were both critical successes for you, and now “Sweet Tooth” has been nominated for an Eisner. Can you give a quick update for fans of that title about what’s in store for everybody’s favorite antlered-hero Gus in the months ahead?

I’m just wrapping up “Sweet Tooth” #12, as far as what I’m working on, and then I’ll be launching into the third story arc. The series is going really strong and I think we’re getting into the point of the series – in the next couple of issues – where it starts to turn from simply Gus’ story to more of an ensemble piece. Some of the side characters will start being fleshed out and playing larger roles, so I think the world of “Sweet Tooth” will start expanding as we get into the third arc.

It’s still gets me excited every day to get up and draw, and hopefully that translates to the readers.

Finally, because you have nothing else to do, including a young family at home, you’re also working on a mega top-secret project for Top Shelf – an original graphic novel, “The Underwater Welder.” How’s that coming along?

I don’t want to give too much away, because it’s a couple of years away, but right now I have the full script written and about 60 pages of art done. It’s probably at least a few hundred pages long book.

As far as the general concept, just on a purely aesthetic level it’s such a cool thing to draw – a guy in a diving suit with a torch, underwater. I think I honestly just started drawing the character in my sketch book just like I did with Gus or like with the Invisible Man, because he looked cool. Then a story just started springing up around it. Obviously in my own life, the last couple of years, my wife and I had our first child and I think this is going to kind of be my story where I can kind of discuss what it was like finding out I was going to be a father and what it’s been like during the first year, too. It’s going to be a big science fiction metaphor exploring that.